Addressing Cannabis Research Challenges with Gas Chromatography

With marijuana decriminalization on the rise in the United States, many people might expect to see more sophisticated systems of labeling and identification in their newly sanctioned cannabis products.

Unlike tobacco, however, marijuana is decidedly more difficult to obtain and research considering its illicit history.

According to a June 2015 studyof 75 medical cannabis products, only 17 percent were accurately labeled. Twenty-three percent were underlabeled, and 60 percent were overlabeled in regards to THC content.

Edible marijuana products, such as brownies and cookies, compound these difficulties even further.

“The cannabis plant itself is easy enough to test, but when you add flour, sugar, and butter, things get complicated,” Mental Floss continued. “Most labs use a machine called a high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC). But HPLCs were designed to handle refined chemicals, not baked goods.”